Nutrition question for long day-hike.

I'm going on a 16-18 hour dayhike and figure I'll burn about 10,000 calories during the hike. If I took table sugar as an energy source I'd have to carry a 5-6 pound sack of sugar and lick that up all day long.

So what I was hoping is that I could rely primarily on burning body fat instead.

My plan is to carry about a cup each of soy nuts, nougat, mixed nuts (pumpkin, sunflower, peanut, walnuts, cashews), raisins plus 45 grams of protein in various Cliff-type bars.

My secret weapon will be an 8 ounce bottle of espresso coffee super-saturated with sugar.

By having trained hard (lots of aerobic threshold training with long - 6-7 minute intervals) for the hike, upping my caffeine levels and by maintaining a moderate pace all day I'm thinking that I will preferentially burn body fat over other sources of energy.

All of this is designed to spare me from having to carry and eat a shitload of food.

Comments anyone?

Kill small animals as you encounter them and eat them while hiking... strain black flies through your teeth like krill through baleen... oh, and donuts, lots of donuts!

If your only looking to burn 10kcal of fat, I'd get rid of the nougat and save the weight.
Oh, and you may want to consider super sizing your secret weapon.

Would you be willing to explain more of the reasoning for the options you came up with? Not being nutritionally minded at this level, I'd be interested to learn the thinking behind this.

Oh, and as an aside, in the book Why We Run, Bernd Heinrich writes about a test he did for ultramarathons to find the best energy source. He settled on high-fructose corn syrup derived cranberry juice, but before that he experimented running long distances and each time consuming just honey, or olive oil, or... wait for it... beer. His results are rather hilarious to read.

Incidentally, I have observed very good backcountry skiers who apparently power themselves on nothing but canned beer.

Sounds good to me...Maybe a PB and honey samich at the 1/2 way point

10k?!!

I think that w/ your training it would be likely that your body has increased it's efficiency to the level where a lifesaver or two should suffice.

ps my fav flavor is wintergreen!

Caffeine is going to act as a diuretic and draw water from your cells. As you pee it away you'll be less hydrated, which will inhibit your body's ability to convert stored fat to energy. In order to hydrate, you'll drink more water, which will dilute your body fluids, requiring you to take in more salts and sugars to maintain an electrolytic balance.

In other words, skip the caffeine.

A small bottle of olive oil. Ounce for ounce it may be best source of energy. It takes a little getting used to, but taking small regular nips will do the trick.

Too much reliance on protein as an energy source. Not enough low glycemic carbs. Highly concentrated sugar drinks won't empty from the gut properly. Burning body fat is a highly inefficient short term energy source. Moderate levels of caffeine have been shown to be more effective than higher levels. You don't even mention water which, for a day hike, even one that length, is more important than food. Your water will be heavier than your food anyway. There are plenty of sources on the net for endurance nutrition information. Wheat bagels, peanut butter, fig newtons, Power bars or Clif bars, dried fruit, apples, oranges, cheese, mixed nuts. Eat a balanced big breakfast.
My 2 cents.

JohnL

Actually caffeine won't affect you as much as people think...
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated--say-what-

Hikes4fun said:

Actually caffeine won't affect you as much as people think...
http://www.divinecaroline.com/22178/46361-coffee-makes-dehydrated--say-what-

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That may be someone's study, but I can tell you from personal experience that I feel much better and more hydrated on hikes that did not start with caffeinated beverages.

MichaelJ said:

That may be someone's study, but I can tell you from personal experience that I feel much better and more hydrated on hikes that did not start with caffeinated beverages.

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Yeah...Me too..I was surprised to see this..There were a few more too..I suppose if Neil drinks some extra water he'll be ok....Just be peeing all day

Beer and Subway's /and or last night's pizza work great for day hikes......if the subs get smelly due to heat I eat fresh pine needles to disguise the taste....adding some olive oil helps with the fat burning process also....I usually have a little olive oil bottle and take swigs every couple of hours.....a can of sardines is always a great treat as well.....make sure to bring a ziplock to carry the empty sardine can in.......

Mats Roing said:

...Subway's /and or last night's pizza work great for day hikes......

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You know, I have to agree 100%. My buddy and I have been banging out some long dayhikes (last one 36 miles) in preparation for a longer hike in September. For me, I like taking a big ole sandwich and munching whenever I get a little hungry. We also like to set up a cache with treats such as Mountain Dew and candy...not sure if this will be possible on your hike. On one of the hikes I took leftover pizza and that was fantastic!

Another thing, I had previously sworn off the Gu type substances, but you know what, I think they actually do have some value. When my tummy started growling a couple times I ate one of the Gu's and I was good to go for a while.

Another favorite of mine on the longer hikes are bananas, I think they are defintely worth their weight.

Also, you probably know this, but I am getting older now (31 yrs), and I have found on the longer hikes that trekking poles actually do work and take a significant amount of stress off your knees and ankles on the downhills. The reason I mention this is because for the first time I experienced a bit on tendonitis on one of the earlier long hikes, but with the trekking poles I felt pretty good the next day.

Even when well supplied with carbs and fats a person derives about 4% (why 4 and not 5 - don't ask me ) of energy from protein. That's 400 cals in my estimated case which comes out to about 100 grams of protein not counting normal requirements. I don't mind burning up my own fat but would just as soon get the protein exogenously.

Water won't be an issue.

I'm going to stick with the caffeinated beverages.

I like the taste of nougat, which is sugar and egg mostly, I believe.

Mats Roing said:

Beer and Subway's /and or last night's pizza work great for day hikes......if the subs get smelly due to heat I eat fresh pine needles to disguise the taste....adding some olive oil helps with the fat burning process also....I usually have a little olive oil bottle and take swigs every couple of hours.....a can of sardines is always a great treat as well.....make sure to bring a ziplock to carry the empty sardine can in.......

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I've been having a bagel with sausage and cheese plus a beer to wash it down. I have no idea, scientifically, if it helps but it certainly does motivate me to get to where I'm going so that I can take a short break, crack open a cold one (usually a 9% alcohol content double IPA) and chow down my sandwich.

Depending on the length of my hike I might have 3 or 4 beers with me. You can make up some of that weight by carrying less water. Fill up in a stream if you have to (I bring those little poison tablets to clean out my water of dog doo).

-Dr. Wu

I think Mats suggestion of sardines is probably good - the fat/protein mix is great. If you don't like sardines, take a tuna pouch or smoked oysters (now available in pouches instead of tins). With a bagel or crackers (I carry Ryvita for the durability) you have a good combo of fat/protein/carbs).

I haven't tried it, but I've heard of some folks who carry a rice and bean mixture with them, which would probably be pretty good, except for whoever is hiking downwind from you.

This book has some good answers.

I think you'll do fine, especially since you've been doing some training for the hike.

Give it a go with what you've listed, and keep us posted.

What's the worse that could happen? You're a bit hungry at the end?

I have a couple of thoughts.

On a hike that long you will burn fat regardless of what you do because you can't absorb as many calories as you will burn.

If you deplete your blood sugar and rely only on fat you will be able to keep going but you will get really slow and feel really tired. I believe that by eating a couple hundred calories of carbs each hour we send a message to our brains that more energy is on the way and our brains therefore don't send signals of fatigue to our bodies.

I think caffeine has more benefits than negatives. It delays fatigue.